Tag: wwe’s most wanted treasures

WWE on A&E programming returning this April, new Rivals host named

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Though the current run of episodes is set to wrap up this weekend, it won’t be long until WWE programming is back on A&E.

It was announced today that new episodes of WWE’s Most Wanted Treasures and WWE Rivals will premiere on A&E this April. Most Wanted Treasures makes its return at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Sunday, April 14. WWE Rivals is then back with new episodes the following week (Sunday, April 21). Rivals will air at 8 p.m. ET/PT. Most Wanted Treasures follows it at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

On Most Wanted Treasures, Booker T, Mick Foley, and Lita “travel across the country in search of priceless [memorabilia] pieces from WWE’s history.” Hulk Hogan, The Miz, Cody Rhodes, Sheamus, and more are set to appear on this season.

A press release said:

This season, viewers will be captivated by the star-studded journey to find artifacts from WCW, and the team will attempt to reclaim pieces of WWE history such as Dusty Rhodes’ polka dot gear, Triple H’s signature sledgehammer, items from The Ultimate Warrior’s illustrious career, and much more.

Rivals will have a new roundtable host for this run of episodes. Comedian Gabriel Iglesias is replacing Freddie Prinze Jr. in the role. Cody Rhodes, Natalya, Kevin Nash, and others are joining Iglesias to discuss some of the most iconic in-ring feuds in pro wrestling history.

There will be Rivals episodes focused on Hulk Hogan vs. Randy Savage, Steve Austin vs. Booker T, Ric Flair vs. Dusty Rhodes, Triple H vs. Seth Rollins, John Cena vs. Batista, and Hulk Hogan vs. The Rock.

Additionally, Biography: WWE Legends is slated to return on Sunday, May 26. There will be documentaries on Mark Henry, Eddie Guerrero, The Miz, Ricky Steamboat, Rob Van Dam, Ted DiBiase, The Steiners, Trish Stratus, Becky Lynch, Paul Heyman, Steve Austin’s final match, and ECW.

The current season of Biography concludes this Sunday (March 31) with an episode on Roman Reigns. That night’s Rivals episode is focused on the Daniel Bryan vs. Miz feud.

Daily Update: New WWE trademark, A&E ratings, Shinjiro Otani

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Daily Update

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This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter:

In this issue:

  • The life and times of the Iron Sheik and Khosrow Vaziri, and how the two men were the same person but altogether different.
  • The short WWF title run
  • The Sgt. Slaughter feud
  • His two very different periods as a pop culture celebrity
  • How the Iron Sheik name and gimmick came around
  • Famous Iron Sheik shoot stories
  • The first WWF run
  • The hostage crisis changes his career
  • Did you know Iron Sheik competed in the predecessor to the G-1 in 1982
  • The feud with Angelo Mosca in Canada
  • The last angle with Killer Karl Kox in Florida
  • Growing up as an amateur wrestler in Iran
  • Why he left Iran and wound up in Minnesota
  • His U.S. amateur wrestling exploits
  • His being trained by Verne Gagne and Billy Robinson and altercations that came up
  • Why Gagne got so much heat when Sheik was injured
  • The angle to set up Sheik’s WWF tile run
  • Hulk Hogan comes to WWF
  • Sheik’s biggest matches during his biggest singles run with Hogan and Slaughter
  • His arrest in a feud with Jim Duggan
  • His teaming with Slaughter
  • His drug issues
  • The death of his daughter and what he wanted to do to the man who killed her
  • Longest reigning world champions in pro wrestling history
  • Stories behind the longest title reigns
  • Differences in how world champions were picked
  • New Japan Dominion, as well as build to Forbidden Door and the G-1 Climax tournament
  • Travel issues relating to getting the BCC into Japan for Dominion
  • Dominion match-by-match coverage
  • TripleMania news
  • UFC Saturday coverage
  • The most detailed look at the ratings for a huge week on television for pro wrestling
  • Where Raw, Smackdown and Dynamite rated among everything on cable and network, both sports and entertainment
  • Ratings breakdown, looking at competition for all the show
  • Perhaps the oldest living wrestling promoter passes away
  • Controversial angle in Stardom
  • Superstar Graham funeral notes
  • The career of Gary Albright
  • Pro wrestling documentary gets an Emmy nomination
  • The first-ever pro wrestling closed circuit show
  • Ticket sales for the upcoming AEW & WWE shows
  • International TV ratings and streaming numbers
  • What notable thing happened in ratings internationally this past week
  • Real WrestleMania attendance and gate figures for 2023 are released
  • Biggest gates in AEW history
  • Merch rankings
  • Dana White talks Tyson Fury vs. Jon Jones
  • MMA show draws 50,000 fans this past week
  • Update on Peacock
  • Notes on the Raw on Twitch show
  • Story behind Smackdown’s monster rating
  • Trends for AEW and WWE ratings
  • What Friday told us about television viewership of AEW and WWE

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Tuesday Update

WWE

AEW

Other Wrestling

  • Shinjiro Otani sent a message of encouragement to Takashi Sugiura ahead of his GHC Championship match on Saturday. Otani has been paralyzed from the neck down after an injury suffered during a match against Sugiura in April of 2022.
  • Howard Stern talked about the passing of The Iron Sheik on his radio show.
  • The Control Center for MLW’s Never Say Never event.
  • Mance Warner vs. George South has been added to GCW’s Now and Forever event on July 14.
  • Bandido, Komander, and Kento Miyahara have been added to GLEAT’s July 1 event at Tokyo Dome City Hall.

WWE on A&E ratings: Most Wanted Treasures up, Stone Cold series down

Posted on by Paul Fontaine

Sunday night’s episode of WWE’s Most Wanted Treasures averaged 394,000 viewers on A&E. That’s up 2.9 percent from last week but is still the second-lowest audience total in the history of the show. 

Most Wanted Treasures finished 23rd on the cable charts with a 0.14 rating in the 18-49 demo. That’s up 27.3 percent from last week’s series-low rating.

The Most Wanted Treasures episode was focused on “Macho Man” Randy Savage memorabilia.

Stone Cold Takes on America, which immediately follows Most Wanted Treasures, averaged 277,000 viewers. That’s down 1.8 percent from last Sunday and is the lowest audience of the three episodes that have aired to date. 

Stone Cold Takes on America finished 52nd on the cable charts with a 0.07 rating, down 22.2 percent from last week and also the lowest of the three episodes that have aired.

Listed below are the total viewership numbers, 18-49 demo ratings, and chart placements for all episodes of Most Wanted Treasures and Stone Cold Takes on America that have aired to date:

WWE on A&E ratings down from season premieres

Posted on by Paul Fontaine

Sunday night’s episode of WWE’s Most Wanted Treasures on A&E averaged 383,000 viewers, down 10.1 percent from last week’s season premiere. It’s the lowest audience in the history of the show.

Most Wanted Treasures drew a 0.11 rating in the 18-49 demo, finishing 38th on the cable charts for the day. That’s down 31.3 percent from last week and is the lowest rating as well as chart placement in the show’s history.

The Most Wanted Treasures episode was focused on D-Generation X memorabilia.

There was stronger-than-usual competition with NBA and NHL playoffs, the MTV TV and Movie Awards, and Succession on HBO all airing head-to-head.

Stone Cold Takes on America, which directly followed Most Wanted Treasures, averaged 282,000 viewers. That’s down 16.8 percent from last week’s series premiere. The show ranked 49th on the cable charts with a 0.09 rating in 18-49, down 18.2 percent from last week. It was 13 spots lower on the cable charts than last week.

Here’s a look at the complete ratings history for Most Wanted Treasures and Stone Cold Takes on America:

WWE on A&E ratings: Most Wanted Treasures, Stone Cold Takes on America

Posted on by Paul Fontaine

Sunday night’s WWE programming block on A&E featured the return of one series and the premiere of another.

The season two premiere of WWE’s Most Wanted Treasures aired on A&E at 9 p.m. Eastern time and averaged 426,000 viewers. That’s down 25 percent from what the show averaged in its first season in 2021 when most of the episodes aired at a later start time.

In the 18-49 demo, Most Wanted Treasures finished 17th on the cable charts with a 0.16 rating. The first season averaged a 0.21 rating, so this was down 23.8 percent from that. The average chart placement in 2021 was 19th.

The Most Wanted Treasures episode was focused on “Stone Cold” Steve Austin memorabilia.

Immediately following Most Wanted Treasures, the series premiere of Stone Cold Takes on America averaged 339,000 viewers. That’s down from all but two episodes of WWE Rivals, which has aired in the same time slot over the last few months.

Stone Cold Takes on America drew a 0.10 rating in the 18-49 demo and finished 36th on the cable charts. Both those numbers are also lower than what Rivals had been doing previously.

Listed below are all episodes of WWE’s Most Wanted Treasures that have aired on A&E to date along with viewership totals and 18-49 demo ratings.

Daily Update: Karrion Kross, WWE Most Wanted Treasures, Ric Flair’s Last Match

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Daily Update

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This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter:

  • Match and performer of the week
  • Rundown of SummerSlam, poll, star ratings, angles
  • Early notes on Clash at the Castle
  • Business notes on both shows
  • Scary moves during the show
  • Ric Flair’s last match show, the good, the bad, the ugly, and where it stands among the biggest indie shows in history
  • The life and legacy of Ric Flair
  • Behind-the-scenes notes on the show
  • Business coverage of the show
  • UFC 277 coverage by Ryan Frederick, match-by-match, what happens next for all the key fighters on the show, business notes and more
  • Full G1 coverage with the standings, key stories, notes on the matches this week and coverage of all the past week shows.
  • Coverage of Dragon Gate’s two major shows over the weekend including one of the company’s best matches, title changes and future notes
  • The life and career of Gil Hayes, a Stampede Wrestling Hall of Famer who was one of the key building blocks of WWC in Puerto Rico, a unique life of a headliner who is largely forgotten today
  • Ratings and trends of all the national shows
  • CMLL announces the biggest matches for its anniversary show, the biggest event of the year
  • CMLL announces its annual World Grand Prix
  • First two nights of the Stardom Five Star Grand prix
  • More on the new IWGP World Women’s Championship and why it is happening
  • Karl Fredericks leaves New Japan
  • New Japan’s U.S. show rundown
  • XFL news under Dwayne Johnson
  • Women of Wrestling starting up
  • New book on ECW
  • More news on King of Indies
  • Old promotion in Mexico restarting with a national TV deal
  • The WBD financials and how it affects AEW, as well as where AEW could be very valuable
  • Cost of AEW compared to usual Discovery fare, ratings, and compared to WWE programming
  • New trademark by AEW and what does it mean
  • More on new AEW promotions
  • Upcoming WWE & AEW ticket sales
  • Streaming numbers for WWE & AEW
  • International TV ratings
  • Major new UFC fight scheduled
  • Jake Paul-Rahman fight falling apart notes
  • Sasha Banks & Naomi
  • Peacock financials
  • New PPV location
  • WrestleMania launch party
  • How Nick Khan got to WWE and his deal making ability
  • What was the match that never happened which led to Nick Khan’s first interaction with WWE
  • Dana White talks his only live WrestleMania
  • Bryan Danielson talks famous Talking Smack segment with Miz

This Week’s Retro Observer Newsletter:

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If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order to P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228, you can get $1 off in every price range.

Tuesday News Update

WWE

  • Main Event matches taped for this week include Cedric Alexander vs. Shelton Benjamin and Mustafa Ali vs. T-Bar.
  • Ciampa and Shayna Baszler are set for tomorrow’s episode of The Bump.
  • Karrion Kross and Scarlett have been added to SmackDown’s internal roster, according to PWInsider. Kross is positioned as the number two heel under Roman Reigns.
  • DEFY announced that Kross will be unable to compete at their Doomsayers event on August 20. However, he and Scarlett will be at the show for an exclusive meet and greet.
  • PWInsider reported that filming is underway for the second season of WWE Most Wanted Treasures. AJ Francis, aka Top Dolla, has not been a part of the new season’s shoots as he was during the first season. Lita has been regularly involved.
  • Take-Two Interactive, the publisher of the WWE 2K video game, listed WWE 2K23 for a release for fiscal year 2023.
  • NBCUniversal has a job opening for a Creative Director, Peacock Sports & WWE.
  • Rey Mysterio is the subject of this week’s Canvas 2 Canvas.
  • Matches added to WWE’s YouTube page today include Drew McIntyre vs. Baron Corbin from the August 9, 2021 edition of Raw, Alexa Bliss vs. Shayna Baszler from Hell in a Cell 2021, and a segment involving Alexa Bliss attacking Bayley with a kendo stick from the May 15, 2017 edition of Raw.

AEW/ROH

  • This week’s AEW Road to focuses on Chris Jericho vs. Jon Moxley, Jade Cargill vs. Madison Rayne, and the coffin match between Darby Allin and Brody King.
  • Recent AEW match graphics have shown Anna Jay’s name to be Anna Jay A.S. moving forward. Jay has mentioned the new name in recent promos.
  • TMZ has footage from the Tay Conti/Sammy Guevara wedding from over the weekend.

Other Wrestling

  • The epilogue for Ric Flair’s Last Match.
  • Keiji Mutoh will be wrestling as The Great Muta at NOAH’s Osaka event on September 3.
  • Bobby Fish will face Yuya Uemura at DEFY Doomsayers on August 20.
  • GCW announced they are bringing in Dragongate’s YAMATO for their October 8 and 9 cards in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
  • KAORU, best known for her run in All Japan Women, Sendai Girls, and appearances on WCW programming in the 90s, had her final match on August 8.

WWE and A&E announce expanded programming partnership, new series to debut

Posted on by Joseph Currier

WWE and A&E have announced an expansion of their programming partnership.

The multi-year expansion will see more than 130 new hours of WWE-themed programming air on A&E. That includes the return of “Biography: WWE Legends” and “WWE’s Most Wanted Treasures,” along with the debut of a new series tentatively named “WWE Rivals.”

A&E has ordered 35 new Biography episodes and 24 new episodes of Most Wanted Treasures. The Most Wanted Treasures episodes will air over multiple seasons.

Biography documentaries focused on Steve Austin, Roddy Piper, Randy Savage, Booker T, Shawn Michaels, The Ultimate Warrior, Mick Foley, and Bret Hart aired in 2021.

The first season of Most Wanted Treasures was hosted by AJ Francis (Hit Row member Top Dolla), who was released by WWE last November. The show, which features WWE wrestlers and legends, “takes viewers on a journey to find some of WWE’s most iconic, lost memorabilia.”

WWE Rivals is the working title of the new series. It’s been given a 40-hour order.

WWE Rivals will “chronicle the little-known stories behind the biggest clashes in WWE history. The episodes will include revelatory insights from those who were a part of the rivalries that often extended far beyond the ring and the cameras.”

The press release announcing the expanded partnership between WWE and A&E also noted that additional hours of original programming are also currently in development.

“A&E is an amazing partner with an impressive lineup of signature series across its networks,” said Nick Khan, WWE President. “The expansion of our partnership will allow us to continue creating a massive slate of new content with a trusted partner, while further establishing A&E as a destination for WWE fans for years to come.”

“The collaboration between these two powerhouse brands has already proven to resonate with audiences and we look forward to working together to create premium content with broad appeal,” said Elaine Frontain Bryant, Executive Vice President and Head of Programming for A&E. “WWE’s incredible fanbase and talent roster are a great complement to A&E’s unique brand of in-depth storytelling that take fans behind the curtain and we are thankful to the entire WWE team for their partnership.”

Ratings for WWE-A&E Booker T Biography, Most Wanted Treasures

Posted on by Joseph Currier

WWE’s programming block on A&E saw a viewership drop on Sunday night.

A&E’s Booker T Biography documentary averaged 595,000 viewers on Sunday, down from the 790,000 viewers that the previous week’s Randy Savage Biography averaged. The rating in the 18-49 demo was a 0.24, down from last week’s 0.31 rating.

The Booker T Biography ranked 17th for the day on cable on Sunday. The Savage documentary had ranked seventh for the day on cable.

Episode four of WWE’s Most Wanted Treasures, which aired immediately after the Biography documentary and was also focused on Booker T, averaged 555,000 viewers on Sunday. That’s down from the 563,000 viewers that last week’s episode averaged.

In the 18-49 demo, WWE’s Most Wanted Treasures was even with last week. The show drew a 0.22 rating and ranked 20th for the day. Last week’s episode drew a 0.22 rating and ranked 12th.

Here’s a look at the ratings for WWE’s programming block on A&E since it began:

Biography —

  • Steve Austin: 1.062 million viewers (0.38 rating in 18-49)
  • Roddy Piper: 880,000 viewers (0.27 rating in 18-49)
  • Randy Savage: 790,000 viewers (0.31 rating in 18-49)
  • Booker T: 595,000 viewers (0.24 rating in 18-49)

WWE’s Most Wanted Treasures —

  • Episode one (Mick Foley): 766,000 viewers (0.29 rating in 18-49)
  • Episode two (The Undertaker & Kane): 769,000 viewers (0.27 rating in 18-49)
  • Episode three (Jerry Lawler): 563,000 viewers (0.22 rating in 18-49)
  • Episode four (Booker T): 555,000 viewers (0.22 rating in 18-49)

Shawn Michaels will be the subject of this coming Sunday’s Biography documentary on A&E. Episode five of WWE’s Most Wanted Treasures will feature Sgt. Slaughter looking for Iron Sheik memorabilia.

Ratings for WWE-A&E Macho Man Biography, Most Wanted Treasures

Posted on by Joseph Currier

WWE and A&E’s “Macho Man” Randy Savage Biography ranked in the top 10 of cable on Sunday.

The Savage Biography documentary averaged 790,000 viewers on A&E, down from the 880,000 viewers that the previous week’s Roddy Piper Biography averaged. But while viewership was down, the rating in the 18-49 demo was up to a 0.31. The Piper Biography had drawn a 0.27 rating in the demo.

In 18-49, the Savage Biography ranked seventh for the day on cable. The Piper Biography ranked 10th the previous Sunday.

The third episode of WWE’s Most Wanted Treasures, which was focused on Jerry “The King” Lawler memorabilia, averaged 563,000 viewers on A&E on Sunday. That’s down from the 769,000 viewers the show averaged the previous week. The rating in the 18-49 demo was a 0.22, down from the previous week’s 0.27. It ranked 12th for the day on cable in 18-49.

The previous week’s Most Wanted Treasures episode was focused on Undertaker & Kane memorabilia. It ranked 11th for the day in 18-49.

Here’s a look at the ratings for WWE’s programming block on A&E since it began:

Biography —

  • Steve Austin: 1.062 million viewers (0.38 rating in 18-49)
  • Roddy Piper: 880,000 viewers (0.27 rating in 18-49)
  • Randy Savage: 790,000 viewers (0.31 rating in 18-49)

WWE’s Most Wanted Treasures —

  • Episode one (Mick Foley): 766,000 viewers (0.29 rating in 18-49)
  • Episode two (The Undertaker & Kane): 769,000 viewers (0.27 rating in 18-49)
  • Episode three (Jerry Lawler): 563,000 viewers (0.22 rating in 18-49)

This coming Sunday’s Biography and Most Wanted Treasures episodes will both be focused on Booker T. The Biography documentary premieres at 8 p.m. Eastern time, with Most Wanted Treasures starting at 10:02 p.m. Eastern.

Ratings for WWE-A&E Roddy Piper Biography, Most Wanted Treasures

Posted on by Joseph Currier

The second week of WWE’s programming block on A&E ranked 10th and 11th on cable on Sunday.

A&E’s Roddy Piper Biography averaged 880,000 viewers on Sunday night, down from the 1.062 million viewers that the previous week’s Steve Austin Biography averaged. The rating in the 18-49 demo was a 0.27. That’s down from the 0.38 rating that the Austin Biography drew.

The Piper Biography ranked 10th for the day on cable on Sunday. The Austin Biography had ranked sixth for the day on cable.

WWE president and chief revenue officer Nick Khan said on last week’s WWE financial call that the Austin documentary was A&E’s highest-rated Biography in 16 years.

WWE’s Most Wanted Treasures, which aired its second episode after the Piper Biography, averaged 769,000 viewers. That’s up slightly from the 766,000 viewers that the show’s premiere averaged the previous week. The rating in the 18-49 demo was a 0.27, down slightly from the premiere’s 0.29 rating. That tied the Piper Biography and ranked 11th for the day in 18-49.

The premiere of WWE’s Most Wanted Treasures also ranked 11th for the day the previous Sunday. The premiere episode was focused on Mick Foley, while the second episode was focused on The Undertaker and Kane.

Week three of WWE’s programming partnership with A&E will air this coming Sunday. A Biography documentary on Randy Savage will premiere at 8 p.m. Eastern time, followed by episode three of WWE’s Most Wanted Treasures airing at 10:01 p.m. Eastern. The Most Wanted Treasures episode will be focused on Jerry Lawler.

Ratings for WWE-A&E Steve Austin Biography, Most Wanted Treasures

Posted on by Joseph Currier

The debut of WWE’s programming block on A&E ranked sixth and 11th on cable respectively on Sunday.

A&E’s Steve Austin Biography documentary, which premiered at 8 p.m. Eastern time, averaged 1.062 million viewers. It drew a 0.38 rating in the 18-49 demo, trailing 90 Day Fiance, an afternoon NBA game, Real Housewives of Atlanta, Food Network’s Tournament of Champions, and Sunday Night Baseball for the day.

The premiere of WWE’s Most Wanted Treasures aired at 10 p.m. Eastern on A&E. It averaged 766,000 viewers overall and drew a 0.29 rating in the 18-49 demo. The show ranked 11th for the day on cable in 18-49.

Here are detailed demographic ratings for both programs:

Steve Austin Biography —

  • People 18-49: 0.38
  • Women 18-49: 0.29
  • Men 18-49: 0.48
  • People 18-34: 0.20
  • Females 12-34: 0.12
  • Males 12-34: 0.20
  • People 25-54: 0.52
  • People over 50: 0.44

WWE’s Most Wanted Treasures —

  • People 18-49: 0.29
  • Women 18-49: 0.21
  • Men 18-49: 0.37
  • People 18-34: 0.15
  • Females 12-34: 0.10
  • Males 12-34: 0.15
  • People 25-54: 0.41
  • People over 50: 0.32

WWE’s 10-week programming partnership with A&E will also include Biography documentaries on Roddy Piper, Randy Savage, Booker T, Shawn Michaels, Ultimate Warrior, Mick Foley, and Bret Hart. WWE’s Most Wanted Treasures is a nine-episode series that “takes viewers on a journey to find some of WWE’s most iconic, lost memorabilia.”